1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An imaging apparatus provided with external apparatuses such as a viewfinder, a zoom, and a pop-up strobe has been proposed in which the external apparatuses are driven by linking to the drive of the lens barrel. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-176049, FIGS. 3 to 6, discloses a barrel unit in which a cam plate that drives external apparatuses such as a viewfinder and a strobe and the like are linked to the extending action of the lens barrel from a storage position and the retracting action of the lens barrel to a storage position. In this barrel unit, a pin provided in a viewfinder cam plate and a pin provided in a moving cam ring pass through a groove hole shaped portion and directly abut, and the viewfinder cam plate is operated by being linked to the moving cam ring.
In the structure of the barrel unit proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-176049, cam plates are necessary as functioning portions that drive the external apparatuses such as the viewfinder and the strobe and the like, and the number of parts, including springs for urging the cam plates, increases. As a result, there is the problem that the cost of the camera overall increases. In addition, using a structure in a camera in which cams that drive external apparatuses are provided on a rotating tube that is provided at the outermost circumference of the barrel without cam plates can be considered. However, even using such a structure, a flexible substrate that is electrically connected from the inside to the outside of the barrel must be disposed so as not to interfere with the through groove. As a result, not only does the size of the camera increase, but there is the problem that the degree of freedom of design is compromised.